Solano County foreclosures dropping, home values rising

Foreclosure rates in Solano County continued falling in February compared to the same period last year, according to newly released data from CoreLogic.

The data reveals that the rate of Vallejo-Fairfield area foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans was 1.58 percent for February, down 1.73 percentage points from February 2012, when the rate was 3.31 percent.

There was less foreclosure activity in Solano County than the national foreclosure rate, which was 2.85 percent for February 2013.

Solano County's mortgage delinquency rate -- the percentage of mortgage loans that were 90 days or more delinquent -- also fell in that period, the data shows.

Local Realtor Linda Cook said the good news should be tempered with the knowledge that the real estate market is cyclical by nature. Nevertheless, "it's great news," she said. "It's saying there are fewer foreclosures and the banks are more inclined to work with people, modify loans."

It also means more people are back to work and able to make their payments, she said.

"And that's the most exciting part," Cook said. "People are motivated, they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's all about the unemployment numbers, and we're doing well getting people back to work."

People who owed more on their homes than they were worth and were looking to cut their losses and walk away are rethinking that, she said.

"They're not selling now because they're seeing this huge appreciation," Cook said. "They're saying if this keeps going, we'll be back where we were before the crash, and at this rate, it could happen in a few years."

The numbers seem to justify at least some of the optimism.

According to CoreLogic data for February 2013, 5.94 percent of mortgage loans were delinquent compared to 8.91 percent for the same period last year, a drop of 2.97 percentage points. This is a steeper drop than both California's 2.19 percent and the nation's .98 percent during the same period.

Mortgage delinquency rates here have fallen constantly every month since January 2011, when nearly 12.3 percent of Solano County mortgage borrowers were three months or more behind. By this past February, that number had fallen to just under 6 percent, according to CoreLogic.

And foreclosures have fallen nearly as consistently in that time. The data shows that in January 2011, more than 4 percent of mortgages here were in some stage of foreclosure, compared to just under 1.6 percent this past February.

Though Cook said she thinks the area is in for another year of 25 percent appreciation, there's a potential disaster waiting in the wings.

"The wild card in all this, is the supposition that the government and the banks are sitting on a huge glut of foreclosed properties," she said. "If they were to dump all those on the market, that would change everything. But that's not likely."

Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at Rachelvth